We need to talk about exam re-marks – and quickly, says editor Laura McInerney It’s the first week of term and teachers of exam classes will be poring over papers to decide if any should be sent for re-marking. At A-level the decision is usually made early: if a student misses their university grades, papers…

Ofqual has put back a decision on allowing pupils to ask for re-marks of their GCSE and A-level exams, originally put forward to be available this summer. In May, the exams regulator announced it was to remove the restriction, which prevents exam boards from allowing learners to make direct re-mark requests. It said this would…

Ofqual needs to do more to stop “simple errors” in how schools deliver exams — although mistakes, security breaches and malpractice will continue, says new chief regulator Sally Collier. In her first speech since she took up office eight weeks ago, Collier admitted the workings of the watchdog and the wider testing system were “much,…

Examiners should be aware of the dangers of social media after two separate posts on Twitter sparked concerns that exams have been marked in public. Both tweets showed pictures of papers being marked on trains, with the posters suggesting they were examiners checking current pupils’ exams. Examiners are in breach of their contract if they…

Ofqual has promised new guidance on the rights of pupils to challenge their grades after exam boards rejected plans to let individuals appeal directly. The exam regulator’s announcement last week that it would lift the restriction on pupils requesting re-marks directly from exam boards was rejected by the four boards that set and mark GCSEs…

Many people will say changes to the GCSE and A-level re-marking system are unfair, but are they correct? Editor Laura McInerney isn’t convinced. Ofqual’s decision to change the GCSE and A-level exam appeals process is unlikely to be an immediate hit. In future, instead of exam papers being re-marked they will be “reviewed”. Senior examiners…

Individual pupils will be able to request re-marks of their GCSE and A-level exams directly, rather than having to go through their school, Ofqual has announced today. In response to its consultation, the exams regulator has announced that from this summer it will lift rules which prevent exam boards from allowing learners to make direct…

The exams regulator has given its clearest indication yet that it will get tough on re-marks to end an unfairness of some schools having a better shot at overturning grades. Ofqual director Phil Beach, writing in a blog today, again highlighted research that found examiners were more generous on appeals leading to “perfectly reasonable marks…

Schools could get the right to request copies of marked GCSE exam papers as they consider appealing against marks, Ofqual has announced. The watchdog also wants to make exam boards use specially-trained reviewers, rather than ordinary examiners, to check marking when results are queried as part of proposals for a new review and appeals process.…

Schools have spent thousands of pounds hiring external moderators to reassess coursework grades amid concerns they have been wrongly marked down. Three schools in the north east of England called in the independent markers as they prepare to mount a challenge against iGCSE English language grades. None wanted to be named, but one school admitted…

Examiners are more generous when they re-mark GCSE and A-level papers immediately after the summer results, a talk by the chair of Ofqual has revealed. A study described by the exam regulator’s chair, Amanda Spielman (pictured), suggests that papers re-marked immediately after exams as part of an appeal later failed to get higher grades when…